SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
& Hilton M. Briggs Library Special Collections

 
 


Miscellaneous Collections
Dakota Agricultural College Board of Regents ledger
 

Administrative Information | Search Terms | Background Note | Scope and Contents Note | Arrangement | PDF of Finding Aid
 

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Title:     Miscellaneous Collections, Dakota Agricultural College Board of Regents ledger

Dates:     1884-1895

Creator:     Dakota Agricultural College Board of Regents

Physical description:      1.38 linear feet—1 container

Collection number:     UA 52.3

Language:     Collection material in English.

Repository:     South Dakota State University Archives, Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Abstract:     Collection is composed of the original ledger of minutes of the Board of Regents for the Dakota Agricultural College from 1884-1895. Also included is a petition, signed by many students of Dakota Agricultural College requesting that the English/History professor be removed from his post.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance:     The material was found in the archives stacks in the fall of 1997. There is no indication of where the records came from or how they came to be here.

Access Restrictions:     This collection is open to research without restriction. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Copyright Status:     Copyright 2008 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives. Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this finding aid.

It is the responsibility of anyone reproducing material to determine the copyright holders and obtain permission from them if necessary. Archives staff will provide available copyright information on request. Please note that most collections, especially those received before 1997, may not have complete information on file. (Revised 15 SEP 2003)

Preferred citation:     [Identification of item]. Miscellaneous Collections, Dakota Agricultural College Board of Regents ledger, UA 52.3, South Dakota State University Archives, South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Processing information:     This collection was processed by Crystal J. Gamradt on January 14, 1999 with revisions on November 20, 2008 (cjg).

SELECTED SEARCH TERMS

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the subject guide. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Subjects:

  • Agricultural colleges—Dakota Territory—Administration.

  • Dakota Agricultural College. Board of Regents.

  • Education—Dakota Territory.

  • State universities and colleges—South Dakota—Administration.

BACKGROUND NOTE

An agricultural college for the Territory of Dakota was established February 21, 1881.  At the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly, provision was made for a Board of Regents of six members, exclusive of the governor of the Territory, who was the ex-officio President of the Board.  A board was selected with three members serving terms of three years and three members serving terms of four years.  This board was formed to establish and organize the Dakota Agricultural College.

In 1887, the Legislative Assembly of Dakota Territory established a method of government for the Dakota Agricultural College.  This method established a governing board made up of five appointees, the governor and one member of the Territorial Board.  The Territorial Legislature approved the appointees biennially, while the Territorial Board member served a one-year term.  An elected president and treasurer ran the board, and the president of the college served as a non-voting secretary.  The board held up to six meetings, totaling no more than 24 days, each year, and board members received compensation for attendance.

For two years, this Board of Regents governed the Dakota Agricultural College [D.A.C].  In 1889, in anticipation of statehood, the legislative assembly dissolved the Board of Regents and established a five-member Board of Trustees to govern the institution through the transition period.

Related material:

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Dakota, Report of the Board of Regents of the Agricultural College of Brookings, Dakota, to the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota, Tribune Printers and Binders, Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.], 1885-[188?]. [Archives: S537.S6 A45]

SCOPE AND CONTENTS NOTE 

This collection is composed of the original ledger of minutes of the Board of Regents for the Dakota Agricultural College from 1884-1895. Included in the minutes is information that details the organization of the college from the selection of the first president to the formation of committees to oversee the finances, course of study, farm, buildings and college lands, admission requirements, and budgets of the college.  Some of the later minutes include reports from the president of the college. A notation appears at the end of the ledger indicating a second volume, which we do not have in our custody and its whereabouts is unknown. The second item in the collection is a petition, signed by many students of Dakota Agricultural College. It requests that the English/History professor be removed from his post.

ARRANGEMENT of the RECORDS 

Box 1.

 

Folder

Description

Dates

1

Petition

1887

2

Ledger: Minutes

1884 June 2-1895 August 19

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Updated 20 November 2008 by cjg

Email questions or comments to: arcrefs@sdstate.edu

Copyright 2008 by South Dakota State University and SDSU Archives.
Please credit the SDSU Archives if you copy or reproduce material from this page.